Is my stethoscope working the right way?

[FuturoEnfermera]

i'm a student and have a cardiology iii. i can hear way better on my stethoscope than on my classmates but i also hear a ton of extra noise. if i barely move my finger across the back of the diaphragm i hear a loud noise. if i tap the tube i hear a lot of noise. i pretty much have to hold it very carefully and not move at all to make sure that i'm not hearing something other than what i'm listening for. is this normal because it is so sensitive? do i just need to get used to it or is it messed up in some way. i always make sure it's clicked in the right side and all so i know it's not that.

[Alex_RN2b09]

I use the same steth and it is very sensitive so yeah you just need to be careful when using it, which makes it less then ideal for working with young patients. I just make sure to get a firm grip with my hand so I don't hear my fingers moving on the bell. So doesn't move around on the patient I keep enough pressure on the place I'm listening and it generally doesn't slide much even if they move. I hope this helps!

[FuturoEnfermera]

i use the same steth and it is very sensitive so yeah you just need to be careful when using it, which makes it less then ideal for working with young patients. i just make sure to get a firm grip with my hand so i don't hear my fingers moving on the bell. so doesn't move around on the patient i keep enough pressure on the place i'm listening and it generally doesn't slide much even if they move. i hope this helps!

ok cool thanks! it was especially hard to listen to my son's pneumonia last week. oh i mean impaired gas exchange. =)

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Moved to the Nursing Stethocope forum.

[mcknis]

Same scope here as well, and it really is very sensitive. Just be careful and you won't regret it later on, when other students are wondering "What do crackles/rhonchi/murmurs/etc sound like?" Can't complain about the scope except it gets heavy after a full days work (12hr).